Same again Budget has an eye on the independence referendum

Photograph: James Glossop for The Times
Scottish Finance Secretary John Swinney delivers his 2012 budget to the Scottish Parliament in Edinburgh.
20-09-12Times photographer, James Glossop

Never knowingly undersold gained a whole new meaning at the Scottish Parliament yesterday.

John Swinney, the Finance Minister, presented a Scottish government Budget for 2013-14 that had been given extravagant advance billing.

This was, according to the media briefings given out by his press office, to be a Budget to stimulate growth, to expand the Scottish economy and to build the economic recovery.

But, while much of the Budget was about construction, it looked suspiciously as though the main project that Mr Swinney had in mind was putting the foundations in place for the 2014 vote on independence.

Nevertheless, on a dreich day at the end of a dull and damp summer, the crowds turned up expecting a great big sale with lots of bargains…